1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,800 Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,800 in a year. 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,560 Today's reading is from Numbers chapters 23 to 25. 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,760 Chapter 23 Then Balaam said to Balak, Build seven altars 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,260 for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams. 6 00:00:22,260 --> 00:00:27,500 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balaak and Balaam offered the bull and ram 7 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:29,060 on each altar. 8 00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:33,040 When Balaam said to Balak, Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,240 Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me, I will tell you. 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,160 So he went to a desolate height. 11 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:43,800 And God met Balaam, and he said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and have offered 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,200 on each altar a bull and a ram. 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,040 Then the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus you shall 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:52,040 speak. 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,840 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes 16 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:58,040 of Moab. 17 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:03,440 And he took up his oracle, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,000 from the mountains of the east. 19 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,380 Come curse Jacob for me, and come denounce Israel. 20 00:01:08,380 --> 00:01:12,540 How shall I curse whom God has not cursed, and how shall I denounce whom the Lord has 21 00:01:12,540 --> 00:01:13,760 not denounced? 22 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,360 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. 23 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,800 There, a people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. 24 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,720 Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,100 Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his. 26 00:01:30,100 --> 00:01:32,880 Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? 27 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,400 I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully. 28 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,560 So he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth? 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,280 Then Balak said to him, Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. 30 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,840 You shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all. 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,000 Curse them for me from there. 32 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,120 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, 33 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,960 and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 34 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,980 And he said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there. 35 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:10,240 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and 36 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:11,960 thus you shall speak. 37 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,320 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:17,840 Moab were with him. 39 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,080 And Balak said to him, What has the Lord spoken? 40 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:26,540 Then he took up his oracle and said, Rise up Balak and hear, listen to me son of Zippor. 41 00:02:26,540 --> 00:02:31,520 God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. 42 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,000 Has he said, and will he not do? 43 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,160 Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? 44 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,960 Behold I have received the command to bless, he has blessed and I cannot reverse it. 45 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,800 He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen wickedness in Israel. 46 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:51,240 And the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 47 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,040 God brings them out of Egypt, he has strength like a wild ox. 48 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,320 For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. 49 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,360 It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, O what God has done. 50 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,960 Look a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion. 51 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:14,280 It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain. 52 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:19,240 Then Balak said to Balam, neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 53 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,440 So Balam answered and said to Balak, did I not tell you saying, all that the Lord speaks, 54 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,000 that I must do? 55 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,360 Then Balak said to Balam, please come I will take you to another place, perhaps it will 56 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,980 please God that you may curse them for me from there. 57 00:03:33,980 --> 00:03:38,180 So Balak took Balam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. 58 00:03:38,180 --> 00:03:43,100 Then Balam said to Balak, build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven 59 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:44,600 bulls and seven rams. 60 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:50,320 And Balak did as Balam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar. 61 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:53,920 Chapter 24 Now when Balam saw that it pleased the Lord 62 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:59,160 to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery. 63 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,840 But he set his face toward the wilderness, and Balam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped 64 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,520 according to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon him. 65 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:13,040 Then he took up his oracle and said, The utterance of Balam the son of Peor, the utterance of 66 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:18,240 the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees 67 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,440 the vision of the Almighty, who falls down with eyes wide open. 68 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:28,240 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel, like valleys that stretch out, like 69 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:34,360 gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. 70 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,980 He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. 71 00:04:38,980 --> 00:04:43,480 His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 72 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,120 God brings him out of Egypt, he has strength like a wild ox. 73 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,620 He shall consume the nations his enemies. 74 00:04:49,620 --> 00:04:53,020 He shall break their bones, and pierce them with his arrows. 75 00:04:53,020 --> 00:04:58,520 He bows down, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion who shall rouse him? 76 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,940 Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you. 77 00:05:01,940 --> 00:05:06,480 Then Balak's anger was aroused against Balam, and he struck his hands together, and Balak 78 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:11,640 said to Balam, I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them 79 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,240 these three times. 80 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,000 Now therefore flee to your place. 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,560 I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact the Lord has kept you back from honor. 82 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,880 So Balam said to Balak, did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 83 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,620 if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the 84 00:05:29,620 --> 00:05:33,700 word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will? 85 00:05:33,700 --> 00:05:38,940 But the Lord says that I must speak, and now indeed I am going to my people. 86 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:43,800 Come I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days. 87 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,640 So he took up his oracle and said, the utterance of Balam the son of Beor, and the utterance 88 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:53,540 of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and has 89 00:05:53,540 --> 00:05:58,700 knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down with his eyes 90 00:05:58,700 --> 00:05:59,860 wide open. 91 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:03,780 I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not near. 92 00:06:03,780 --> 00:06:08,920 A star shall come out of Jacob, a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow 93 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:14,080 of Moab, and destroy all the sons of Tumult, and Edom shall be a possession. 94 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:19,280 Sayre also his enemies shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly, out of Jacob 95 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:23,060 one shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city. 96 00:06:23,060 --> 00:06:27,720 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said, Amalek was first among the 97 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,120 nations, but shall be last until he perishes. 98 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,920 Then he looked on the Canites, and he took up his oracle and said, Firm is your dwelling 99 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,600 place, and your nest is set in the rock. 100 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,860 Nevertheless, Cain shall be burned. 101 00:06:40,860 --> 00:06:43,860 How long until Ashur carries you away captive? 102 00:06:43,860 --> 00:06:48,960 Then he took up his oracle and said, Alas, who shall live when God does this? 103 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:54,420 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, and they shall afflict Ashur and afflict Eber, 104 00:06:54,420 --> 00:06:57,260 and so shall Amalek until he perishes. 105 00:06:57,260 --> 00:07:00,100 So Balam rose and departed and returned to his place. 106 00:07:00,100 --> 00:07:02,820 Balak also went his way. 107 00:07:02,820 --> 00:07:06,620 Chapter 25 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the 108 00:07:06,620 --> 00:07:09,980 people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 109 00:07:09,980 --> 00:07:14,060 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed 110 00:07:14,060 --> 00:07:15,380 down to their gods. 111 00:07:15,380 --> 00:07:19,820 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against 112 00:07:19,820 --> 00:07:20,940 Israel. 113 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:24,760 Then the LORD said to Moses, Take all the leaders of the people, and hang the offenders 114 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,020 before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from 115 00:07:29,020 --> 00:07:30,120 Israel. 116 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,340 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Every one of you, kill his men, who were joined 117 00:07:34,340 --> 00:07:36,100 to Baal of Peor. 118 00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:40,220 And instead, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite 119 00:07:40,220 --> 00:07:44,020 woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of 120 00:07:44,020 --> 00:07:47,900 Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 121 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:52,660 Now when Phineas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from 122 00:07:52,660 --> 00:07:56,620 among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand, and he went after the men of 123 00:07:56,620 --> 00:08:00,980 Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the men of Israel and the woman through 124 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:02,180 her body. 125 00:08:02,180 --> 00:08:05,900 So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel, and those who died in the plague 126 00:08:05,900 --> 00:08:07,820 were twenty-four thousand. 127 00:08:07,820 --> 00:08:12,140 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Phineas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, 128 00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:16,300 has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with my 129 00:08:16,300 --> 00:08:21,420 zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in my zeal. 130 00:08:21,420 --> 00:08:26,700 Therefore say, Behold I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and his descendants 131 00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:32,020 after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made 132 00:08:32,020 --> 00:08:34,500 atonement for the children of Israel. 133 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:39,420 Now the name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son 134 00:08:39,420 --> 00:08:44,500 of Salu, a leader of a father's house among the Simunites, and the name of the Midianite 135 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:48,020 woman who was killed was Chosbi the daughter of Zor. 136 00:08:48,020 --> 00:08:51,300 He was head of the people of a father's house in Midian. 137 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:55,340 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Harass the Midianites and attack them, for they harassed 138 00:08:55,340 --> 00:08:59,660 you with their schemes, by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter 139 00:08:59,660 --> 00:09:04,580 of Chosbi the daughter of a leader of Midian their sister, who was killed in the day of 140 00:09:04,580 --> 00:09:11,300 the plague because of Peor. 141 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:14,940 I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you 142 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:17,060 again tomorrow to continue on our journey. 143 00:09:17,060 --> 00:09:25,180 God bless you and have a great day.